The present invention relates, in general, to the field of injection molding machines.
Nothing in the following discussion of the state of the art is to be construed as an admission of prior art.
A typical injection molding machine includes a clamping unit for support of at least two molding tools to provide at least two different cavities for production of multicomponent products. The clamping unit may be constructed as a stack mold or include an intermediate plate in the form of a sliding plate or a swivel plate. As a result, the overall injection molding machine is of drawn-out construction whose footprint is substantial. Examples of such injection molding machines include German Offenlegungsschriften DE 199 37 200 and DE 101 38 087.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved injection molding machine to obviate prior art shortcomings